He had just returned from the basement, where he was talking to Gary Smith, a longtime friend and former classmate.

The two men, both deaf, feverishly gestured to one another in sign language over a videophone, discussing the recently released documents relating to a Milwaukee priest molesting students -- the same priest they said had molested them.

The New York Times reported the documents showed top Vatican officials, including the future Pope Benedict XVI, had failed to discipline the now-deceased Milwaukee priest, the Rev. Lawrence Murphy. According to the report, Murphy abused as many as 200 deaf boys in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1950 to 1974. Read the article

Back upstairs, Budzinski, 61, sat next to his daughter, Gigi, who translated his story. Her father, she said matter of factly, was abused three times by Murphy while a student at St. John's School for the Deaf in St. Francis, a suburb of Milwaukee nestled on the banks of Lake Michigan. Timeline of Father Murphy's case

Budzinski said he was 12 the first time it happened.

"It was in the closet. I asked for a confession, and then he molested me," he said, adding the abuse occurred once a year for three years. "I was wondering ... 'You're a man from the church, why are you molesting me?'"

He was unable to tell his story at the time, because his parents did not know sign language.

For years, he blocked out the memories of the abuse, until they came flooding back when he was in his 20s. It was during the 1970s that Budzinski, Smith and another friend and classmate, Robert Bolger started sharing their experiences with each other.

"If you don't tell people, it gets worse, and it will happen more and more," Budzinski said. "You need to speak out and be open."

The three friends found strength in numbers. It was time to tell their secret and put an end to the sexual abuse against deaf boys by Murphy, Budzinski said.

They held public protests where they circulated "Wanted" fliers with Murphy's image. They went to the Milwaukee County district attorney's office and the St. Francis Police Department to file complaints against the priest. Murphy denied the allegations, and no criminal charges were filed.

"Robert Bolger always said 'It's the three of us,'" Budzinski said. Bolger died in 2006. "I'm sad that Robert's gone, but I am in his place fighting, because Robert was the leader."

Budzinski has been sharing his story since the 1970s, but now the world is aware. The headlines from the March 25 New York Times story had circled the globe.

Days after the Times' report, the archbishop of Milwaukee apologized repeatedly for the way his archdiocese handled the priest. He also defended the Vatican, which has come under fire for not disciplining or defrocking the man.

Video: Vatican paper defends Pope

Video: Why did defrocking take 6 years?

Map: Catholic church abuse scandal

"Mistakes were made in the Lawrence Murphy case," said Archbishop Jerome Listecki at the end of a special Holy Week mass at St. John's Cathedral in Milwaukee. "The mistakes were not made in Rome in 1996, 1997 and 1998. The mistakes were made here, in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, in the 1970s, the 1980s and the 1990s, by the church, by civil authorities, by church officials, and by bishops.

"And for that, I beg your forgiveness in the name of the church and in the name of this Archdiocese of Milwaukee."

The Vatican said it did not know about the allegations until 20 years after civil authorities investigated and later dropped the case. Murphy died in 1998.